The American apparel maker, American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), announced on Wednesday an expansion of operations in the Middle East by opening stores in three new markets: Morocco, Jordan and Egypt. In Jordan, AEO opened its store in the Taj Mall on 30 Nov. The Morocco Mall store in Casablanca opened on 1 December, while Egypt's store opened at City Stars Mall in Cairo on 10 December. AEO operates in these three countries as well as Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates through its franchise partner, M.H. Alshaya. The company has also opened its third store in Saudi Arabia, and has plans for a second store in Lebanon in early 2012. AEO boasts over 1,000 stores worldwide Since 2009, AEO has opened stores in Russia,China and Hong Kong, and signed agreements for stores in Japan and Israel as well, working with various franchise partners. Egypt has seen major apparel retailers open stores in Cairo's pristine shopping malls, despite economic and political turmoil overwhelming the country since a popular uprising ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. Last August, the San Francisco-based retailer, GAP, opened its first Gapstore in Egypt in the newly built Mall of Arabia.